Keep Calm and Carry On Revising!

Read on to learn 7 strategies for keeping a cool head when facing revision for financial exams.

Ever find yourself so snowed under the revision you need to do, that you just don’t know where to start?

Does the very thought of exams send you into a frantic flap?

Do you have a strategy for surviving overwhelm?

When our bodies enter the stress response we can’t think straight. So to have an effective strategy already in place is invaluable.

Here are some ideas for doing just that.

Take a deep breath! Seriously! No one can focus when they’re stressed. A few minutes spent taking deep breaths in through the mouth and letting them out through the nose, will help calm you down and make the best of the time you’ve got.

Write a revision to-do list Make a broad-sweep list of all the topics you have to learn.Group the items in the list according to their themes. You can look at the table of contents in your course manual, to see an overview and help you do this.

This process will allow you to see the size of the challenge. Also, as you begin to pick off the topics and learn them one by one, you’ll be keeping track of your progress. And that feels good. It’s always a good motivator, when you can tangibly measure your success.

Prioritise Some of the topics will be more important to learn than others. Maybe you’re less familiar with them and have more work to do, to understand and learn the material. Or perhaps they have a greater weighting in the exam. Or perhaps there are some topics you know for sure will come up in the exam.Devise a scoring system or order them according to their level of importance.

Take action Picking off one or two of the quicker and easier topics, learning them and then marking them off on your topic list will encourage you to keep going. This is especially important if you tend to procrastinate under pressure.

Kick the tough one into touch After knocking off a couple of easy topics, tackle a more difficult one. Make up your mind to get stuck in – and don’t stop until you’ve finished. You’ll feel great and what’s more, you’ll be motivated to see what’s next.

Remove distractions Make sure you set yourself up for success. Take yourself away from the usual distractions: the TV, telephone, other people, Facebook etc. You know what they are. Save them for later.

Reward yourself Take the time to acknowledge what you’ve achieved so far. This sends a very powerful message to the unconscious mind that you’re on track – that this is the positive direction you’re going now.Once in a while, give yourself a little treat – an incentive – so you can look forward to enjoying it when you’ve completed the next revision assignment.

When you’re faced with an enormous task just remember: How would you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time!

Have you ever used any of the above strategies to combat overwhelm during exam time?

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